Tesla rival's new EV may be its last chance to take down Elon

California-based EV automaker Lucid (LCID) and its chief rival Tesla (TSLA) are the handiest two EV manufacturers that have achieved anything else of this high caliber: producing a car worthy of Car and Driver's prestigious 10Best list.

In his writeup, C&D Associate Editor Austin Erwin said that the lowest priced Lucid, the Lucid Air Pure, made him feel as if he were "holding a golden ticket as opposed to a coupon," crediting its impressive range, performance, and space for the cost.

Though Lucid currently makes only one model, the Air sedan, the logo plans to introduce a new SUV most often which is regularly is termed the Gravity later this year. Nevertheless, a new photo on social media can provide a glimpse right into a new series of models so that you may assist the EV automaker take on Tesla and put them within the black.

Wrapping up Tech & Manufacturing day: A brand new sneak peek at one in all our upcoming midsize vehicles, set for production in late 2026 with a starting price less than $50k.

With leading technology and efficiency, it'll have the option to deliver the identical range as competitors while using a… %twitter.com/yJ5re2fIlt— Lucid Motors (@LucidMotors) September 10, 2024

Coming your entire way down to [Lucid] Earth

In a post on X, formerly most often which is regularly is termed Twitter, Lucid provided a visual "sneak peek" into one in all its upcoming models.

Though or not it truly is some distance still obscured in a silhouette, the curvy new Lucid is the first in what it calls its midsize SUV platform, a series of lower-priced, mainstream models aimed squarely at Tesla's volume sellers: the Model Y and the Model three. In the post, it notes that the still to be named car will feature "leading technology and efficiency" and that "it'll have the option to deliver the identical range as competitors while using a smaller battery."

In a previous interview with Autocar in December 2023, Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson noted that the corporate wants to move for volume, and that the new cars are its key forward and an improbable due to showcase its improved technology.

“The mid-sized [line] goes to be overtly a Tesla competitor – Model three, Model Y. It truly is the first time I’ve ever said it: we’re going to compete in that market – high-volume family car," Rawlinson told Autocar.

“And the way can we compete? Because we’ve got the foremost improved technology, which implies we are ready to move farther with less battery, and the battery is the foremost high-cost item of an electrical car. So if you happen to can maybe go a certain distance with less battery, you can maybe make that car more cheaply than anyone else.”

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Money Talks

Lucid's vision for going after for the EV sales winners; the Tesla Model Y and Model three will find them in a crowded, but very public platform for them to stand out. Though they plan to sell the still-unnamed car with a starting price "less than $50k," sometime in late 2026, concerns about its financials are nowadays's story.

Despite making record sales of its Air sedan, Lucid is still hemmoraging money. For the duration of its second quarter 2024 results on Aug. 5, it reported a net loss of $790 million eventually of the quarter, which was three.4% higher than the identical period last year.

"Our Q2 financial performance reflects the positive momentum of increased sales of Lucid Air and the outcomes of our cost reduction efforts, which contribute to the journey toward improving gross margin," Intervening time Lucid CFO Gagan Dhingra said.

On the identical day, it also announced that its biggest shareholder, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), injected any other $1.5 billion into the luxurious electric automaker.

Related: Lucid's CEO throws shade at BMW, Tesla

In a separate statement, the interim Lucid CFO said that the lifeline should assist Lucid through for a long time.

“The extra $1.5 billion commitment by an affiliate of the PIF announced nowadays is anticipated to present sufficient liquidity into as a minimum the fourth quarter of 2025,” Dhingra said.

In a new note published on September 11, Bank of The the u.s. analysts led by John Murphy noted that Lucid "failed to produce any update on financial aspects," but addressed that the CEO "made clear that the path to profitability highly is dependent on scale."

Murphy drew special attention to any other Lucid technology unveiled at the event; a miniaturized drive unit so that you may enable them to make use of a smaller battery % than its competitors; which has to be would becould all right be a benefit if it would all right be made at scale.

"We would in the pinnacle like to see this translate into improved financial results and profitability," the analysts said. "Nevertheless, note that LCID currently doesn't revel in any cash in on production at scale since production volumes remain low."

The Bank of The the u.s. analysts be aware of their Neutral rating on LCID and $three.fifty five price objective.

At the closing bell, Lucid Motors, which trades on the Nasdaq as LCID, is up 12.seventy 5% nowadays, at $three.ninety eight per share.

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